


Stranger Things Have Happened

by ErinisMagic



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Crack, Gen, and it was going good, and tried it out, but not real cracky crack, i had an idea, until the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:02:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinisMagic/pseuds/ErinisMagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue boxes in the engine room? Well, that's certainly new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stranger Things Have Happened

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for the suckiness of this work. I got massive writer's block about half way through, and I was getting tired of just leaving it open. If you just pretend that no one was mischaracterized and the ending actually had effort put into it, then we're good.

It had been weeks since the last time the _Enterprise_ had stopped to explore a planet, and the crew was getting restless. They had dropped out of warp and were drifting lazily around space as they searched for a planet and plotted courses to new solar systems. It had been quiet on the ship, too; so quiet that Scotty didn't quite know how to react when he woke up one morning to find a banged up 1960s police box in the middle of the engine room.

His first instinct was to think that someone had put it there as a joke. He wasn't sure who could have, though; nor where they had found the time, space, or materials needed to build it. No, he reasoned, it didn't have anything to do with the crew.

His next thought was that he was just imagining it, cabin fever and all that. Walking closer, he reached out and placed a hand on the faded blue paint, feeling the dirt-covered wood beneath his palm and knowing that it was real.

His third thought, of how the impossibility of the box somehow getting onto the _Enterprise_ contradicted its being there, had just entered his mind when the door to the box swung open and out stumbled an equally banged up man along with a quite a bit dust and smoke. The man's brown suit and tie were looking a little singed and worse for wear, and his brown hair stuck up at odd angles. What looked to be a suede trench coat was cradled in his arm, seemingly the only thing he had that wasn't damaged. The doors to the box shut behind him as he coughed deeply, leaning against the box for support. Scotty wasn't entirely sure of how to approach him, or if approaching him was even a good idea. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to, because the man looked up to find him hovering uncertainly on the other side of the box. “Oh, hello,” the man greeted cheerily in a slight Scottish accent, apparently unaffected by his condition.

“Um, hi,” Scotty said in return, still unsure of what he should be doing. He was an engineer; situations like this weren't his area of expertise. “Are you... supposed to be here?”

“Yes. Well, no. Sort of? Honestly, I'm not totally sure of where 'here' is. Was this where I was planning on being? No, not by a long shot. My ship's damaged, though; got knocked right out of the Time Vortex. She emergency-landed so she could repair herself, so I didn't really have a lot of control over where we went. This place looks friendly enough. Some sort of engine room, I'd say. Is that it? Are we in an engine room? I've seen uniforms like yours before. Starfleet, am I right? Is this a Federation vessel?”

The man talked a mile a minute, and Scotty had trouble keeping up. “Uh, yeah. Yes, this is a Federation ship; the _U.S.S. Enterprise,_ ” he said distractedly, before catching on to something the man had said somewhere in his ramble. “I'm sorry, did you say your ship?”

The man nodded, stroking the box affectionately. “Yup. She's my ship, alright. Beautiful, isn't she? I know she doesn't look like much on the outside, but on the inside...” He blew out a low whistle. “I've traveled all across the universe in this thing. All through time, too. Not something you can do in your typical, fancy, Federation ship, is it?”

“Right,” Scotty said slowly. Was he honestly supposed to believe that this box was not only a space ship, but a time machine? _This man must be mad!_ “Uh, engineering to bridge,” he called to the communication system. Although he was obviously crazy, the man didn't seem to be a threat, and his warm personality was so likeable that Scotty hesitated to call security on him. Hopefully his captain would have a better idea of what to do than he did.

“Kirk here,” came the captain's voice. “What is it, Scotty?”

“I've got a wee bit of a situation in the engine room,” he said, noting that the man made no attempt to speak up for himself, explain that it was all a misunderstanding, or even move. Instead, he stayed where he was, leaned against his police box and watching Scotty with deep, brown eyes that sparkled brilliantly.

“Alright, I'll be right there.” The captain's voice was unreadable.

Scotty nodded to himself as an uncomfortable silence descended between him and the stranger. Well, uncomfortable for him; he couldn't read the other man's body language well enough to know how he felt about it. He breathed an almost inaudible sigh of relief when Kirk walked in a few moments later. “Captain,” he called, walking over to meet him a good way away from the stranger, whose back was now to them.

“What's this about, Scotty?”

 _Straight to the point,_ the engineer thought. “This is about, well, _that,_ ” he said, giving a nod towards the police box that had yet to be explained. “I found it when I walked in here. The man doesn't look all that dangerous, but he's mad as hell. He said that box was a time machine.” He lowered his voice at the end of his report, just in case the man overheard. He didn't want to accidentally send him into a fit just by not believing his wild story.

Kirk's eyebrows drew together in confusion as he looked at the mysterious box, then back to Scotty. Without saying another word, he walked over to the man in the suit, Scotty following close behind.

“Excuse me, sir,” Kirk called, capturing the man's attention.

“Hello,” the man said, turning around, large, loopy grin pulling at his features. “You must be the captain. Pleased to meet you!”

Kirk thought quickly, mind running through hundreds of diplomatic responses to find one that would work, eventually settling on “Sir, I'm going to have to ask you who you are and what you're doing here.” Entirely non-convicting, yet forceful enough to let the man know that there would be no funny business on the ship; if he didn't have a good reason for being there, there would be trouble.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, sorry! Smith, John Smith. Ambassador John Smith, from Gallifrey. We're not part of the Federation, but I suppose that's what I'm here to talk to you about.” The man, Ambassador Smith if he was to be believed, delivered the lines with confidence, but it seemed to Kirk that he was making it up as he went.

“Gallifrey,” he repeated, trying to catch the man in a lie. “I've never heard of it.”

“Really? My higher-ups told me that they had arranged a meeting. Look, I've even got a Federation issued invitation. This is the _U.S.S. Enterprise_ , isn't it?” The man pulled a piece of paper out of the inner pocket of his suit and, sure enough, on behalf of the Federation, Ambassador Smith had been invited onto the _Enterprise_ to talk about the Gallifreyans joining the Federation. “Anyway, as I was just telling your excellent engineer, I didn't plan on just dropping in without warning. My ship was shot out of the Vortex, so I had to land her so she could repair herself.”

“You said your ship could travel in time,” Scotty interjected, still not convinced that the man wasn't entirely insane.

“Indeed she can,” Smith said proudly. “I bet the Federation can't wait to get their hands on tech like that!”

“Perhaps we could continue this talk elsewhere?” Kirk suggested, angling his head towards the lift. Like Scotty, he still wasn't sure that the man was who he claimed to be and wanted to bring him somewhere he couldn't easily run from. However, on the off chance that he was an ambassador invited on the ship, and they just hadn't been informed, he didn't want to risk offending him with disbelief.

“Of course! You know, I was just thinking th- ah!” Smith's bright voice cut itself off in a cry of pain as he pushed himself off the box, hands shooting down to clutch his side. A large dark spot was spreading out under his palms.

“You're hurt,” Kirk stated needlessly, rushing over to slip an arm under Smith's, keeping him on his feet.

“It's fine,” Smith tried to brush him off breathlessly.

“We have superb doctors up in Sickbay, they'll be able to fix you up just fine.” Kirk motioned for Scotty to take Smith's other arm so he couldn't break away, pulling his trench coat out of his arms so he wouldn't have to worry about holding it.

“No, really, I'm fine. You don't have to-”

“Please, Ambassador,” Kirk cut him off as they all but dragged him into the lift. “We insist.”

Smith didn't stop talking the entire ride up to Sickbay, trying to convince them that he wasn't hurt too badly; that he'd heal just fine on his own and really, there isn't any need to bother your doctors, I'm perfectly okay! Scotty may not have been a doctor, but with the amount of blood seeping out from under the ambassador's suit, he was positive that Smith was lying.

He was still struggling when Kirk and Scotty marched him into Sickbay, quickly capturing the attention of Doctor McCoy. Without asking for an explanation, he grabbed Smith out of the captain's arms, steering him over to an empty biobed.

“Doctor McCoy,” Kirk said, using his strong, captain voice, “this is Ambassador Smith, from Gallifrey.” It was hard to miss the disbelieving expression he gave the doctor behind the ambassador's back, perfectly conveying the fact that Kirk found it likely that the man had made up that introduction. McCoy nodded, confused but ready to play along. “He was injured when his ship was shot, just before coming on board.” And, sure enough, there was a dark stain spreading out from where the man in question clutched his side.

“Alright, let me take a look at ya,” he said, moving to place Smith on a biobed. Smith shot up at the last second, trying to dash off, but was caught McCoy's surprisingly strong arms before he could make it very far.

“Honestly, I'm fine,” he tried one last time to talk his way out of Sickbay. McCoy, having already caught sight of the wound, wasn't about to buy it. “Your captain has never heard of my planet, I'm guessing you haven't, either. You're unfamiliar with my anatomy, you won't know how to treat me!” Well, he wasn't lying.

“That's a risk I'm willing to take,” McCoy ground out, shoving Smith back into the bed, almost certain he was human; just a stowaway making up excuses. He twisted around, reaching for a hypospray full of what was either painkillers to lessen the ambassador's discomfort before McCoy started to work or a sedative to make him shut up, Kirk couldn't be sure. He hadn't even had his back turned for half a second when the monitors surrounding the bed started blaring.

McCoy whipped back around, attention fully on the wailing monitors. “What the hell?” he muttered under his breath. “His heart rate is way too fast. Nurse Chapel, get me-”

“Nothing, I'm fine!” Smith shouted over McCoy, who ignored him and continued on with his list of equipment he would need.

Frustrated beyond words, Smith reached into his pocket, pulling out what looked to Scotty like a small, silver rod. He pointed one end at the monitors, pressed a button, and just like that the monitors returned to normal. He put the rod back into his pocket. “Now, you see? Totally fine, just like I've been telling you. If you'll excuse me, I'll be getting back to my ship. She should be alright by now.” Before anyone could stop him, Smith was off the bed and out the door.

“Goddammit, Jim, this guy is worse than you!” McCoy ground out, running after the ambassador, closely followed by Kirk and Scotty. They chased him back down to the engine room, where he dashed back into his ship, the door snapping shut behind him. Moments later, the box began to dematerialize right in front of them. It wasn't the same type of materialization they witnessed with the use of the transporter pad, and it was accompanied by a loud, wheezing sound that echoed around the room even after the box had vanished from sight.

A look was exchanged amongst the three of them, a few eyebrows were raised, some words tossed around. In the end, they decided to just forget about the day's events. After all, stranger things had happened on the _Enterprise_.


End file.
